


The superhero AU no one wanted

by askshirley56



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-15 21:57:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8074165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askshirley56/pseuds/askshirley56
Summary: Haruhi is different from Tamaki in a lot of ways. Unfortunately, having superpowers isn't one of them.





	1. Haruhi

**Author's Note:**

> is this fandom even alive? I'll probably rename this something else.

Haruhi is going to kill that man. She knows who he is; everyone does- Tamaki Suoh, aka Golden Boy, with those bright violet eyes and white-and-gold costume, can’t easily hide from the public. Especially not without a secret identity.

Tamaki Suoh was born to be in the spotlight. His father, Yuzuru Suoh, was one of the founding members of the International League of Superheroes. In his prime, the man was charming, dedicated to his cause to helping others, and levelheaded. He was also one of the most powerful meta-humans of his generation. Tamaki, they say, is like his father in that way. The golden beams that burst forth from his eyes could take down a skyscraper, and has done so on several occasions. He loves the people, but he’s young, reckless, unfit for active duty under the League. He works as a very conspicuous vigilante while still a student in the Ouran Academy for Humans with Extraordinary Abilities. Despite, or possible because of, working without a secret identity, the police can’t stop him. The large majority of Japan loves the superhero and the civilian. Tamaki Suoh is the superhero of the people, unhindered by the international laws and bureaucracy governing the League. It definitely doesn’t hurt that he is “astonishingly handsome”. 

Haruhi isn’t one of his adoring fans. She finds him too different from her in the worst ways. He’s loud and attention-seeking; a danger to himself and those around him. He’s too young and gives no thought to the lives and property destroyed in his escapades and isn’t even held responsible by the media or the government. But Haruhi remembers her mother working on countless cases where people lost their homes, their livelihoods, to the escapades of meta-humans who think they’re above the law. They’d received little to no compensation from the League, since the damages were caused by someone unaffiliated with them. Tamaki Suoh has no idea of the damages he and his gang cause. If she saw him, she’d probably say this to his face. 

Not that she ever would see him. Haruhi takes the bus every morning and every night to and from school. Tamaki Suoh could just fly home to his mansion on the outskirts of the city, and if he didn’t feel like it, he just get his personal driver to bring him where he needs. 

So why the hell was he on the train just now? Haruhi thinks to herself, running out of the train station, clutching her schoolbag in her arms. Her eyes sting under her closed lids and her head is pounding. She runs faster. Why did he have to be on this train? Why did he have to stand next to her? And why, when the train lurched at her stop, did he have to reach out to steady her and touch her? 

She’s lucky she knows the route home by heart, because she doesn’t open her eyes once on her way home. Her head throbs everywhere and her eyes burn now; she rubs them to try to soothe the pain. She yanks her front door open and stumbles in. After throwing the lock closed, she leans back against the wall beside the door and slowly opens her eyes.

She can’t see anything but white, but she can hear her hardwood floor splintering; she can smell the rug burning. She slams her eyes shut, hissing in pain. She buries her face in her hands, takes a deep, shuddery breath. She slides to her knees and stays there, her eyes still closed. 

Haruhi is different from Tamaki in this way, too: No one knows that she’s a meta-human.


	2. Kyouya

“Kyouya, I think I’m dying,” Tamaki announces as he throws open Kyouya’s bedroom door and makes a beeline for his bed. Kyouya has the covers pulled up over his ears and makes a gruff snort when Tamaki tries to pull the blanket away. 

“Kyouya, I’m serious-get up!” Tamaki huffs, giving up on moving the blanket, and crawls onto the bed and sits on Kyouya’s back with his full weight. “Ever since yesterday afternoon I’ve been feeling off. I felt so absolutely exhausted getting off that commoner train I couldn’t even fly home! I had to call our driver to come pick me up!”

“Maybe you caught some illness. That’s what you get for wanting to take the commoner’s train to go to the city,” Kyouya mumbles and tries to shift his body out from underneath Tamaki. He refuses to budge. 

“Kyouya, don’t be ridiculous. I can’t get sick from normal illnesses you know that. That’s why there must be something seriously wrong with me!”

“That’s not any different than usual, then. Although, your presence is giving me an even worse headache than- ” Kyouya stills. “Tamaki, get off of me.”

Tamaki, surprised by his tone, scurries off and kneels at the foot of the bed. Kyouya shifts to sit up, massaging the bridge of his nose. He opens his eyes slowly and stares at Tamaki intently. 

“I can hear you.” 

The color drains from Tamaki’s face and his eyes widen. “But…you said you can’t-”

“I couldn’t.” Kyouya grabs his glasses from his bedside table and gestures to a potted plant across the room. “Try using your laser vision.” 

Tamaki turns on his knees to face the potted plant. He takes a deep breath, staring at it. Kyouya can feel him centering, concentrating his energy. 

Tamaki gasps and topples to his side suddenly, panting heavily as if he’d run a marathon. The potted plant is still there. He curls into himself against Kyouya’s blanket-covered legs, his head pillowed on Kyouya’s thighs. 

“Kyouya, what’s happening to me?” His voice sounds so small. Kyouya doesn’t need to read his mind to know he’s terrified, but he can and being able to feel it in his own bones makes him ache. Kyouya places a hand on Tamaki’s cheek and moves his face gently, so Tamaki is looking up at him. 

“I need you to remember everything that happened yesterday, in as much detail as you can. I need you to calm down, and I need you to focus. You can do that for me.” It’s not a question. Tamaki nods and closes his eyes. Kyouya takes a deep breath and does the same.

_The train is so lively; Tamaki is glad he decided to take it to go to the city today, even if he’s alone. He’s worn a disguise today (a dark, unfashionable hoodie) so people won’t recognize him. He wants to be with people today, not above them; this train is the perfect setting. So full of people and so much noise! From the train itself, not the people. The people aren’t talking to each other- and they should! It’s a lovely day, they’re surrounded by so many faces they’ve probably never even met before. What if someone met their true love, right here on this very train ride?_

_The train conductor says something muffled over the PA system; he doesn’t understand what he says, but he knows it means the train will stop soon. He looks over and sees a pretty young woman standing with her hand on a railing. She has headphones on underneath long, straight brown hair. She is looking out the window with a faraway look in her big brown eyes. Tamaki wonders what’s on her mind, for her to be so lost in thought._

_The train lurches when it stops, and it catches the young woman by surprise. Tamaki reacts on instinct, reaches forward and grabs her arm to steady her from falling over. She flinches and turns her gaze up to him. She’s even cuter up close._

_“Please be more careful, miss.” Tamaki gives her his most charming smile. Once she looks at his face, all the color drains from hers. She wrenches her arms free and bolts through the train doors without so much as a thank you._

_Weird. That’s not usually how people react when they see him. Tamaki steps off the train and starts walking towards a restaurant._

Kyouya opens his eyes. “We need to find that girl.” 


	3. Haruhi

After spending the last three days holed up alone in her house, Haruhi is glad to go to the farmer’s market. For the first 24 hours since she’d come home, she couldn’t open her eyes for fear of destroying more of her home. She stayed in her bed, curtains drawn and blanket pulled over her head, trying to keep her headaches at bay. On the second day her father woke her by screaming when he came to bring her breakfast, only to find her floating 3 feet above her bed. By day 3 she could open her eyes without blowing a hole through her wall, but she still had trouble keeping her feet on the ground. 

Now, she can keep herself mostly planted, and if she’s running it’s hardly noticeable if her toes don’t make contact with the ground. She wonders briefly if she should have called the League and told them what had happened and tried to get in contact with Tamaki to return the powers. They would have met with her immediately and her body wouldn’t have had to get used to the new power. But then they would have asked her why they had no record of her powers in the registration. Then there would probably have been more questions when they found out she hadn’t registered when she had developed her powers. They would take her out of school for several days, questioning her motives to find out if she stole Suoh’s powers for nefarious purposes. They’d probably force her to get registered and enroll at Ouran, derailing her plans for law school. 

No, she decides, eyeing the apples on sale, better to have not told them. It would have been too much of a hassle.

And with her having the power, that meant Suoh wouldn’t be using them to go around destroying people’s works and homes. She wouldn’t have to even worry about absorbing someone else’s power while she had Suoh’s. She wouldn’t have to live in fear of touching someone’s skin- even accidentally. The weather’s been starting to warm up; she could wear short sleeves again for the first time since she was 7 years old. She could- 

“Look out!” A voice cried out, jarring Haruhi out of her thoughts. She turns around and squints at the horizon. In the distance, she could see a young boy no older than 5 running into the street to chase after a rubber ball. The oncoming truck wouldn’t be able to slow down in time. 

Haruhi doesn’t think; she just reacts. She finds herself soaring through the air, aiming for the child. Her hair whips around her face and she can’t see, but she stretches out her arms anyway. She folds her arms around the child’s body, hoisting him up into the air with her. The child squeals in her ear, but from fear or simply surprise she doesn’t know.

“It’s alright,” she tells him. “You’re safe now.” She gently places him down on the sidewalk, next to a tearful woman who is clearly his mother. The child, though his hair windblown, looks no worse for wear, clutching his rubber ball to his chest. 

“Thank you, oh thank you so much!” The woman sobs. 

“It was nothing, ma’am.” Haruhi smiles, patting the little boy on the head. She kneels down to face him. “You should wait for your mother before crossing the street, okay?”

“Okay,” the child nods. “Thank you, super lady.”

Haruhi breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Someone please help us!” Haruhi hears as soon as she stands up. She turns to look for the sound; her eyes widen. 

The truck had swerved after the driver saw Haruhi fly past his windshield. He had lost control and he was heading-

Straight towards the farmer’s market. 

Haruhi takes to the sky. She doesn’t know what to do; she didn’t gain any super strength from Suoh. She lands between a vendor cart and the incoming truck.

“Get out of your truck!” She calls out, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The driver frantically goes for his seatbelt and throws himself out of truck and rolls onto the street. 

Haruhi opens her eyes.

A beam of white light bursts from her eyes, so forceful it almost knocks her over. 

The truck splits neatly in half before her, ends rolling in opposite directions before screeching to a halt.


	4. Kaoru - interlude

Kaoru’s just about to beat the final boss when a red alert screen appears over his game. He sighs as he watches his character falls off the building and sad 8-bit tune plays. He clicks on the notification and a live security camera video opens. 

“Hey, boss?” Kaoru calls, eyes not leaving his screen. “You’re gonna want to look at this.”

Kyouya comes up from behind him and looks over his shoulder at the screen. A girl with long, dark hair flies past a truck headed towards an open-air market. She lands between the truck and the market; a figure rolls out of the truck. Seconds before the truck hits the girl, a wide beam of light splits the truck neatly in half. The girl is kneeling there, looking dazed but otherwise unharmed. A nearby seller cautiously walks up to her and puts a hand on her shoulder. At the touch she jolts, looks around in a frenzy, and takes off into the sky. 

Kyouya reaches a hand over Kaoru’s shoulders, pressing a few keys. The video rewinds, catches a moment where the girl’s face isn’t obscured by all her hair, zooms in. Kyouya mouth twitches upward, his glasses glinting.

“We found her.”


	5. Haruhi

Haruhi stares into the space where the truck had been. Distantly, she’s aware of car alarms blaring, but she can’t bring herself to move. 

“Miss, are you…alright?” A voice asks. At the touch of a hand to her shoulder she flinches. She looks around stunned, knocking the hand off of her shoulder. A couple more people emerge from hiding behind their stalls to look at her. 

Her heart is racing; there’s too many people looking at her. She looks up and catches the gleam of a security camera of a nearby building. A fire truck siren wails at it comes closer.

She ducks her head down and tries to run, only to find her feet no longer touching the ground. 

She’s 10 feet in the air. People are looking at her, and the sound of the fire truck is even closer. In a panic she wills herself to fly even higher before shooting out of sight.

The wind blows her hair into her face, making it impossible to see where she’s going. It doesn’t matter; as long as it’s away from people, cameras, or the police. 

But that camera probably saw her face, and that seller at the market definitely did. It’s only a matter of time until the League finds her.

Even still, Haruhi’s not about to make it easier for them.

\------------------------

With a final snip, Haruhi sets her scissors down onto the bathroom sink among the remnants of her long brown locks. She runs a hand through her hair, checking for any egregious differences. She rummages in a cabinet under her sink, finds an old pair of glasses from middle school, and slips them on. With a huff, she stands up to inspect the final product in the mirror. Her hair is messy and uneven, too short in some places and too long in others. The back isn’t as short as the front, giving her an almost mullet-like haircut. Without her long hair, she looks a bit more masculine; her sharp jaw and thick eyebrows no longer hidden. Haruhi’s never given much thought to the way she looks, but even she finds herself unrecognizable from that morning. 

Now that the adrenaline has worn off, Haruhi knows she was being a bit rash with her decision. But what’s done is done. 

Her father will probably throw a fit when he sees her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> baby chapter while I have exams and try to figure out where I'm going with this.


	6. Haruhi

“Haruhi, honey, I’m home!”

“Hey, dad. Welcome home,” Haruhi hums from the kitchen. In the past few hours, she’s found her new hair very useful. She doesn’t have to tie up her hair when she cooks, and she doesn’t sweat as much either. She spends all of her nights cooking. Her father works most days at the convenience store and most nights at the okama bar. The rare nights he’s home they eat the dinner she’s made and watch television together. “How was work?”

“Ugh, I know I should have broken in those heels- oh my God Haruhi WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?” Haruhi finds herself whirled around to face her father. He’s wearing one of his more glamorous looks today, thick false lashes and long, flawlessly curled auburn hair. Standing in front of him with her newly cut hair and baggy sweatshirt, Haruhi can feel her father thinking she looks worse than she actually does. 

“I…felt like I needed a change?”

“Haruhi, you know I am all for finding yourself and fun looks but you couldn’t have gotten this cut at a real salon? And why are you wearing your old glasses?” Her father has her face in his hands, tilting it side to side to examine her.

“I ran out of contacts.” Her father sighs and finally lets go of her face.

“Well, tomorrow then. I have the day off, I’ll take you to a salon and get you a proper haircut.”

“I can’t ask you to do that, Dad. You should rest on your day off.”

“Well you should have thought of that before cutting off all your beautiful hair.” Her father hums before walking to the small TV in their living room and flicking it on. “Besides, we haven’t had any bonding time in a while.”

“I really think you should just- ” 

“In other news,” the newscasters says. “A mysterious meta-human woman saved the lives of dozens of people today at a local farmer’s market.” Haruhi’s eyes widen and she scrambles across the room for the remote. A witness is being interviewed onscreen. Haruhi recognizes the woman as the mother of the child she saved.

“It was unbelievable. She swooped in and pulled my son out of the way. She’s a hero! I could never thank her enough!” The woman cries tearfully. The video cuts to a security feed video of her flying and landing in front of the barreling truck before a beam of light shoots through it. 

“But just who is this woman? The League claims no affiliation with her. However, her powers are remarkably similar to those of Golden Boy Tamaki Suoh.” Haruhi reaches for the remote, but her father yanks it out of her hands. He’s not looking at her, but straight at the television screen, making it impossible for him not to see her face in the grainy security video still.

“Haruhi...” her father’s grip is tight on the remote. “Tell me that isn’t your face on our TV screen?” 

“Uh, actually-“ A knock on their front door interrupts her. She wasn’t close enough to her classmates to invite them over and her dad never brings ‘friends’ over when she’s home. She glances at him, who shakes his head; he wasn’t expecting any company either. 

“Haruhi Fujioka?” The stranger knocks again. “I am Yuzuru Suoh, member of the International League of Superheroes. I just want to talk to you.”

Her father motions for her to hide silently as he heads for the door. She hurries as quietly as she can to her father’s room and closes the door. 

Ranka steels himself and puts on a winning grin before opening the door.   
“Hi, there!” He beams, poking his head out from the doorframe. Sure enough, there stood Yuzuru Suoh in an immaculate white suit. Standing next to him is a much younger man with neatly styled dark hair and the upper half of his face obscured by a white mask. “I’m Ranka Fujioka, Haruhi’s father. Is everything alright?” Suoh bows politely. 

“Our apologies for the late night visit. We’re looking for Haruhi Fujioka, sir.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen my little girl all day. I just got of work and she hasn’t been home-”

“Lie,” the younger man interrupts. Ranka’s eyes cut to him sharply. 

“I…I assure you there’s no one here but little old me.” Suoh and the other man share a look.

“Then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind inviting us in?” Yuzuru smiles, all teeth. Out of sight, Ranka grips the handle of the door tighter, blocking the entranceway with his body. He gives a nervous, affective titter.

“You’re asking a lady to let two strange men into her home at night when she’s all by herself?” Ranka starts to close the door. “I’ll let Haruhi know you stopped by, so if you don’t mind- ”

“Sir, I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation.” Suoh jams his foot between the door and the frame. He uses the leverage to push the door open. “Your daughter is suspected of stealing another meta-human’s ability-”

“That is impossible- hey where are you going?!” The other man sweeps through his house while Suoh continues.

“-And as an unregistered meta-human, she is considered highly dangerous and must be contained. We don’t know the true extent of her powers, your own safety might be at risk.”

“From my own daughter? This is absurd. Superhero or not, you can’t just barge into my home!” The younger man has reached the end of the hallway to Ranka’s room. “Hey, that’s my room! Didn’t your mother raise you with any manners?”

He tries for the handle; locked. He turns to Ranka, finally acknowledging him, and motions to door. “Open it.” Ranka huffs and crosses his arms. 

“I don’t have to do anything. You are trespassing on my home.” 

“The safety of the public is more important than your privacy, Mr. Fujioka,” Suoh responds evenly. “I’d prefer if we didn’t have to break down your door because you refuse to cooperate.”

“Well it’s a little later for that, isn’t it? Get out of my house.” 

“Harboring a fugitive-” 

“She’s a child-”

“She is a meta-human. The rules are different for our kind, for the safety of ourselves and others. The Academy can teach her how to control her powers.”

Ranka glares at him silently, arms still folded. A moment passes. Suoh sighs. The other man leaves his post at the door, a pair of handcuffs in his hand. 

“Very well, Ranka Fujioka, you are under arrest for harboring a fugitive of the law, child endangerment -”

“Excuse me?” 

“Letting Haruhi run around this long without proper safeguards as an unregistered meta-human is highly irresponsible as a parent and a citizen. You work long hours, do you not? Can you for say for certain that you’ve provided her with the supervision she needs?”

“How dare you- ” 

“Don’t talk about my dad that way.” Haruhi interrupts harshly, standing in the now open doorway. “He’s the best father anyone could ask for.”

“Haruhi, what are you doing? ” Ranka whispers, fighting tears. Haruhi holds her wrists out in front of her. 

“I’ll go with you. Just leave my dad alone.” Ranka is uncuffed; he throws his hands around his little girl. 

“I won’t let you take her, I won’t!” Haruhi wraps her arm around her dad and buries her face in his neck. 

“I’ll be ok, Dad,” she says, even though she’s not entirely sure she’s correct. She can feel him shake her head no against her face and squeeze her tighter. His hair is smothering her and she cant breathe, but she can’t make herself let go either. 

“I can’t lose you, too.” 

“Make sure you take care of yourself, okay? Eat vegetables.”

“I’m the parent, here, not you.” Haruhi laughs softly, rubbing circles against his back.

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, my brave little girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long chapter this time.


	7. Haruhi

Haruhi drums her finger against the metal table her wrists are cuffed to. She sits alone in a stereotypical interrogation room, facing a mirror that she knows has people watching her on the other side. 

“This really isn’t necessary,” she calls out to the empty room. 

“You’ll forgive us for being paranoid. Seeing as you are unregistered, we don’t know the extent of your powers,” a voice responds from a speaker somewhere. Haruhi rolls her eyes. “You also changed your appearance. Seems very suspicious.”

“And what exactly are you charging me for? You still haven’t told me why you brought me here.” 

Yuzuruh Suoh opens the door and sit across from her. He has a notepad in one hand a ballpoint pen in the other. It’s a nice pen, Haruhi thinks idly. Probably costs more than her father makes in a year.

“Haruhi Fujioka, age 16. Daughter of ____ and Ryouji, alias Ranka, Fujioka. Excellent student, perfect grades. No behavioral problems reported, but no extracurriculars.”

“You still haven’t asked me a question.” 

Suoh smiled humorlessly. “Why don’t we start with what exactly your abilities are and when you presented.”

“I presented when I was 10 years old. I take on the powers of any meta-human I touch.”

“And how do you keep your powers under control?”

“Keeping myself covered, mostly. As long as they don’t touch bare skin I;m fine.”

“Ah, so you were a fan of my son and, what, forgot yourself?”

Haruhi snorts. “Hardly. I almost fell on the train and he reached out and touched my shoulder. I don’t live anywhere near the Academy, so I wasn’t expecting to bump into another meta-human. We’re not that common.” 

“I see,” Suoh nods, writes something down on his notepad before continuing. “And yet, despite being aware of my son’s position, you didn’t think to give it back.”

“It’s not an immediate thing,” Haruhi wriggled in the chair uncomfortably. “It…hurts. The transfer. My body has to take the energy and process it. Your son has… a lot of energy.”

“And how long did it take your body to process this energy?”

“About three days.”

“So for three days, you stayed among civilians, while your body attempting to process an undefined amount of energy.”

“I’m not an idiot,” Haruhi huffs, indignant. “I stayed home until I could control it.”

“That stunt you pulled today at the market damaged thousands of dollars in property. Does that sound controlled to you?” 

“I saved those people.”

“You got lucky. What happens when you make a mistake, take on a power you can’t handle? What if your body can’t process it?” 

“That won’t happen.”

“Hasn’t happened. Yet. The public won’t stand for an unregistered person acting as a vigilante outside of the League’s control. Especially not someone with powers like Tamaki.”

“But I don’t even have his powers! Just let me touch him and I’ll lose it! I’ll go back to just being me.”

“That’s even worse. To them you are an unknown. Without his powers, your open to take anyone else’s. As an unregistered, you have no loyalty to anyone. The League is under enough fire as it is.”

“So what do you suggest I do? I can’t exactly pay for the Academy, and it’d be a waste of time to go there. My powers can’t be used the same way yours can.”

“Even so, I can’t just let you roam free.” Suoh pauses. He sets his pen and notepad onto the table, crosses his arms, strokes his chin. “Explaining the true nature of your power would just cause unnecessary suspicion. We need to convince the public we have you under control.” He gives her a quick once-over. “You look dramatically different from the videos released to the press…” He falls silent. The contemplative quiet stretches on. He snaps his fingers suddenly in an “a-ha” fashion.

“I’ve got it. We make a huge production, make you look the way you did in the security footage. We bring you into our school as a new recruit who happens to have the same powers as my son. We’ll say the stress of the situation caused you to present suddenly, and we’ll be bringing you into the Academy as a scholarship student.

“After the ceremony, you give my son his powers back, you change clothes, and we sneak you out of the school.”

“You’re…letting me go?”

“You’re right that you can’t be trained in the same way as most of the students here. However, I still believe we can help you here. So I will have you come frequently to receive training. And we’ll need to keep you here initially to test the extent of your powers. Perhaps then you would be able to choose who’s powers you would take.

However, there is one small catch. While at the Academy, Haruhi Fujioka can no longer attend regular schooling.”

“You’re saying I need a secret identity.”

“You already have one.” Suoh stands and moves out from in front of her, leaving Haruhi face to face with her new reflection. From this distance, she can hardly recognize herself; her hair sticks up in weird places. Her glasses, large and unflattering, make her look like her grandfather in a photograph she’d seen before. Suoh unlocks her handcuffs; she rubs her wrists absently, looking up at him. He smiles at her.

“So, what do you say?” She looks at herself in the mirror one last time. Her identity for her freedom. Haruhi looks back at Suoh and nods determinately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> watch me struggle to make a plot because i only got as far everyone's superpowers. also wow seven chapters in and haruhi hasn't met the squad.


	8. Kyouya

“How boring, her powers aren’t event that useful,” Kaoru sighs, taking in the scene on the other side of the one-way mirror. He’s leaning on his arms against the table in the mirror room. “She wouldn’t even be able to do half the training at the Academy on her own.” 

“She left Tamaki pretty frazzled though. Could you imagine? Losing your powers so suddenly?” Hikaru responds around a mouthful of chips. He’s sitting cross-legged on top of the table beside Kaoru. Kaoru hums in assent, reaching into the bag of chips in his brother’s lap and shoving it gracelessly into his mouth. Kyouya, standing on the other side of Hikaru, levels a glare at the two of them. 

“Neither of you are supposed to be here, please quit making such a mess.” Kaoru and Hikaru look him straight in the eye as they take large handfuls in their hands and stuff their faces noisily. Kyouya gives them a look before heading out the door. The twins fall into step quickly behind him.

“You could make some kind of strategy out of it, I bet.” Kaoru continues. “Like, what if she could take the powers of a big deal villain? Like the (whatever the name is of the mafia episode) guy?” 

“She’d have to get close enough to touch him, first.” Hikaru’s walking backwards now, still keeping pace with Kaoru and Kyouya. He balls up the chip bag, aims, and tosses the bag into a trash can. It sinks in neatly.

“Honeypot missions,” Kaoru titters. Hikaru snorts. 

“The way she looks, I don’t think anyone would touch her with a 10-foot pole.”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to judge. I’m sure she’d clean up very nicely,” Kyouya responds. “Besides, the two of you certainly aren’t ones to talk right now.” The twins gasp in unison, affronted, before pulling out small compact mirrors from their pockets and checking their faces. After assessing themselves, they look up to find they’ve been left behind.


	9. Haruhi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> does anyone else really just...write things and then post it without proofing it? Cuz I do, and look where that got me- I forgot to put in the mafia guy's name in the previous chapter. I'm gonna leave it.
> 
> Anywho here's a long chapter. Still no real plot, if anyone has anything they want to see in this universe (which would be literally anything since there is nothing here) lemme know.

Haruhi has never enjoyed being the center of attention.

It’s not that she’s particularly shy or embarrassed in the public eye, but she had been told more than she could stand to be more…cordial. Haruhi doesn’t go out of her way to be mean; she thinks honesty is better than being false. Having every detail of herself analyzed by people who only care about what she looks like and not who she is as a person isn’t her idea of fun.

But she smiles and stays quiet as Suoh presents her to the public as a new student in the Academy. They are standing on the steps in front of the entrance to the school. Cameras and journalists surround them, snapping photos and raising hands for questions. She and Suoh had flew onto the scene for an extra bit of dramaticism. She’s in the Academy uniform, a simple black jumpsuit, complete with gloves and boots, and a long wig, styled to look like her hair pre- chop. She hasn’t ordered new contacts, so she can’t really see anything other than blurry shapes and light. It’s hot and uncomfortable, and Haruhi has to remind herself not to scratch at her hair or squint too much. 

“… With powers rivaling my own son’s, we want to ensure Miss Fujioka gets the quality education and training she needs to achieve her full potential.” He says this with an air of finality, but reporters continue to clamor. 

"Ms. Fujioka, do you think you’re going to be a better superhero than the Golden Boy?” is shouted louder than the rest. Haruhi looks to Suoh, who hands her the microphone and nods encouragingly. She wasn’t prepared to answer any questions. She looks at the sea of people and takes a calming breath before speaking. 

“I just want to help people, that’s all.” Haruhi looks back at Suoh, who smiles and takes back the microphone. 

“No further questions. We thank you all for coming,” Suoh says before turning both of them away from the cameras and into the school. 

“You’re quite the natural. I’d have thought a line like that would sound trite but you sounded very earnest.” Suoh notes once their out of earshot, on their way to his office where Tamaki was waiting for them. 

“Well, I just said what I felt.” Suoh hums agreeably as he opens the door to his office. 

Even without her glasses, Tamaki looks much different from the last time she saw him. Unlike his usual, effervescent self (at least, the one she saw on TV and on the train), he looks exhausted. His skin is pale, his hair lackluster. There are deep purple bags under his tired eyes. It’s as if a dimmer switch has him on the lowest setting. 

Still, when he spots her and his father standing in the doorway, he smiles. 

“Ah! So it’s you again from the train. I suppose you’re the one who caused all this?” He holds a hand out to her to shake. His tone is cheery, if a little forced, but he doesn’t seem to hold any grudge against her for making him this way. Haruhi doesn’t know that, if she were in his shoes, she would do the same. 

She takes of one of her gloves and grasps his hand. His eyes widen and he sucks him a breath sharply. Haruhi feels blood rushing to her head, like she’s gotten up too fast. Her chest tightens, it feels as though every part of her is trying to leave her body all at once. Distantly, she feels her knees hit the floor. 

Moments pass; she catches her breath. She looks up, slightly, notices his body mirroring hers. They haven’t let go of each other’s hands. Her eyes continue their travel upwards, to Tamaki’s face. This close, she can clearly see his eyes, an almost violent shade of purple, blown wide; he’s still gasping for breath. If Haruhi’s body has been emptied out, Tamaki’s is fit to burst. She finds her voice first. 

“I’m sorry. I had no idea this would happen to you. I’ve never had anyone’s power for longer than a day.” 

“Well you certainly got the handle of it pretty quickly,” Tamaki smiles, but it looks like a grimace. He finally gets up, pulling her to stand with him. “I’m glad to have you on our side.”

“I’m not actually a real superhero, you know. I can’t even properly train.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. You’re going to the Academy now right? We just have to realize your full potential.” Tamaki winks at her. Haruhi drops his hand. Her wig itches.

“I’m not going to be a full-time student, but yes,” she eyes him thoughtfully. “Aren’t you older than me though? We wouldn’t even be in the same class.”

“Silly Haruhi, this isn’t that kind of school,” a voice chimes in from behind her. She whips around quickly. A young man around her age with rust-colored hair leans by the door. Suoh seems unbothered by his presence; his son, on the other hand, is extremely ruffled. 

“Hikaru, what are you doing here?! Isn’t this supposed to be a secret operation?”

“Who better to head a secret operation than us?” Another boy identical to Hikaru pops up from behind Tamaki, who jolts. He clutches his metaphorical pearls.

“Don’t DO that to me, you know I hate it when you-”

“Ha! Japan’s very own Golden Boy, a big scaredy cat! What happens if Haruhi decides to tell?”

Tamaki rounds on her in an instant. He grabs her- thankfully covered- shoulders and shakes her. 

“Oh Haruhi, you wouldn’t tell would you? Obviously you could see I wasn’t afraid, merely caught of guard!”

“Er…you can relax, Suoh. I won’t tell anybody.” His eyes sparkled and his grip tightened on her shoulders. 

“Oh, you’re the best, Haruhi! A real treasure! And please, call me Tamaki. After all, we’re going to be seeing each other a lot more from now on.” Haruhi huffs a nervous chuckle. She doesn’t know how anyone can handle these sudden swings. It’s barely been five minutes and she already feels overwhelmed by the full force of Tamaki’s presence. She looks over at Suoh senior, who only looks amused at his son’s antics. Finally, he takes pity on her.

“Alright, I think this has been enough excitement for one day. We should escort Ms. Fujioka home now, right? Hikaru, Kaoru?”

One of the twins- Haruhi guesses Kaoru, due to his proximity- whips the wig off her head. Haruhi takes her glasses from her pocket and puts them back on.

There’s a pause. They all look at her.

“I can’t allow her to go out like this!” Tamaki wails.

“We won’t be seen with her like this.”

“We aren’t supposed to be seen at all, right? What does it matter what I look like?”

“There’s a difference between blending in and not putting in effort, Haruhi,” one of the twins tuts. 

“Going out in public looking super gross is going to draw even more attention to yourself. You look like you have something to hide. When you put a bit of effort in, you look like everyone else. No one will give you a second glance,” says the other. They give her matching sharp grins; Tamaki’s eyes are glittering with excitement.

“Time for a makeover.”

Haruhi gives a pleading look to Suoh, who only looks amused. 

“As long as they get you back in one piece, I have no problems with it. It’d do you well to get to know your peers.”


End file.
